Mohamed Elibiary (right) being sworn into Homeland Security Advisory Council by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in October 2010.

WASHINGTON -- Huma Abedin is, in some ways, lucky. Although a group of five conservative lawmakers have alleged that she may have connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, public officials on both sides of the aisle have since rushed to defend the character and good name of the high-ranking State Department official.

But the other Muslim American individuals targeted by these lawmakers, who aren't quite as famous as Abedin, haven't been so lucky.

Mohamed Elibiary, a national security expert who serves as an advisor for the Department of Homeland Security, was accused last October of leaking secret documents in an effort to smear then-presidential candidate and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) as Islamophobic. The charges led to death threats, and the FBI had to visit Elibiary's home to investigate a suspicious package.

DHS found the charges baseless, but nine months later, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), one of Ebiliary's chief accusers, hasn't let it go. He's now taken his issue with Elibiary -- a Republican whom he described last week as "a very nice gentleman" -- even further, accusing him in a June 13 letter to DHS of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Elibiary, along with Mohamed Magid and Dalia Mogahed, are mentioned in one of the letters sent to various government agencies earlier this month by Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Thomas Rooney (R-Fla.), Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) and Gohmert. The representatives are all calling for investigations into whether the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the U.S. government. Magid is also mentioned in a letter to the Justice Department.

All three say they are in no way affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. But it's difficult for them to clear their names, Elibiary said, when members of Congress seem intent on dragging them through the mud.

"They feel like there's no consequences to what they're doing, no negativity, and they just wrap themselves in the flag like they're the only uber-patriots out there. There are real peoples' lives that are affected," said Elibiary, the sole Muslim member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council. "This is a witch hunt to just make sure that we ruin every Muslim who is serving in any capacity in the government, period."

Elibiary Elibiary was born Alexandria, Egypt, and grew up in Dallas. He said no one in his family -- from parents and siblings to grandparents, aunts and uncles -- has any ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. He filled out documents for vetting and "it wasn't ever an issue," he said.

The accusation by conservative outlets that Elibiary shopped around classified documents to the press did not lead to him losing his spot on the advisory council, and both agencies that looked into the matter found he had done no such thing.

Cleared or not, Gohmert won't drop it. Last week he questioned Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano over why her agency hadn't responded to his alleged security violations. She pointed out -- again -- that they were found baseless. She also defended Elibiary and other Muslims who have advised the agency and are now being attacked.

"What bothers me, quite frankly, are the allegations that remain against anyone who happens to be Muslim," Napolitano told Gohmert.

"The allegations are not because he is Muslim," Gohmert replied.

Elibiary has been helpful to Gohmert in the past, introducing him at one point at a mosque in the congressman's district. That friendliness has dissolved now. Elibiary said he wrote Gohmert a letter in March asking him to talk about his concerns, but it went unanswered. When he saw the congressman at the state GOP convention in early June, he said he approached him again and politely said the same thing. "He looked at my delegate name tag and said 'Mohamed Elibiary, all I need to know about you I already know,' and proceeded and walked off," Elibiary said.

Gohmert's office did not respond to a request for comment on that meeting, his accusations against Elibiary or the letters he and other members of Congress sent on the Muslim Brotherhood. Bachmann's office also declined to respond with a comment. So far, she has been unapologetic about the letters, saying in a July 18 statement that they were "unfortunately being distorted," and not responding to questions from reporters over the Republicans who condemned her effort.

All three of the advisors accused of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood in the June 13 letter were vetted by DHS, a spokesman for the agency said on condition of anonymity.

Mogahed, who is the executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies and served on a DHS working group, also said she was being wrongly tied to the Muslim Brotherhood.

"As a Gallup expert, I research and report public opinion in majority Muslim societies on a variety of issues, including the relationship between politics and religion," she said in an email. "I am not and have never been a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. In our capacity as Gallup scientists, my colleagues and I frequently meet with a wide variety of leaders and address diverse global audiences in an effort to inform public debate and policy decisions with sound research."

Magid, the president of the Islamic Society of North America and the leader of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, a 5,000-member group of mosques in Northern Virginia, called the accusations "unfair and unfounded" and said he has "nothing to do with the Muslim Brotherhood." He called the accusations "politically motivated" and said he believes they were made to "isolate Muslims from public life."

"American Muslims are always being questioned by the people who are supposed to be the defenders of religious freedom," he said. "It bothers me that the people making these statements haven't even talked to us. I have never met Michele Bachmann in my life, nor Frank Gaffney, but they make assumptions that are completely inaccurate."

Magid said he regularly works with federal officials such as those in DHS, but does so in order to "address the issue of violent extremism."

Giving an example, he said he invites "people from law enforcement to my [mosque] to talk about Internet safety and recruitment for violent extremism online."

The imam also invited the lawmakers to visit his mosque.

"Come with me and talk to me and look the Muslim community in the eye and say 'I would like to get to know you.' Ask us what we are doing, what we are contributing to America," Magid said.

Elibiary said he would like the Office of Congressional Ethics to look at the letters from the five members. His understanding is that he can't sue a member of Congress for making those claims against him, but that there should at least be rules against it.

"When you throw peoples' names out in public and you publish these letters that they've published, they're not going after the truth," Elibiary said. "They're not interested in people ever being found innocent. What they're interested in is making sure to tar their reputation forever as associated with something controversial."

CORRECTION: -- This article has been updated to say that Elibiary was born in Alexandria, Egypt -- not the U.S. -- and to remove a reference to the three advisors not having security clearances. One, Elibiary, does have a clearance.

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Unforgettable Bachmann Moments

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Bachmann raised some eyebrows in November 2011 when she claimed she'd never "had a gaffe."
"As people are looking at the candidate that is the most conservative and the most consistent candidate, I've been that candidate. I haven't had a gaffe or something that I've done that has caused me to fall in the polls," Bachmann told Greta van Susteren in a Fox News interview.
The claim was interesting considering her knack for making misstatements.

During a campaign stop in Iowa, Bachmann responded to accusations from Ron Paul that she "hates Muslims."
"I don't hate Muslims," Bachman said. "I love the American people. And as president of United States, my goal would be to keep the American people safe, free and sovereign."
"The haters are the president of Iran," she said, referring to Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "He stated unequivocally that given a nuclear weapons he will use that weapon to wipe Israel off the map, and he's willing to use it against the United States of America."

Early in the Republican presidential race, Bachmann attacked rival Rick Perry for his 2007 executive order mandating that young girls receive the vaccine against HPV, a sexually transmitted disease that is the leading cause of cervical cancer.
She even made the claim that the vaccine could cause mental retardation. However, she distanced herself from the statement after receiving criticism from medical professionals who believe the vaccine is very safe.
"I didn't make that claim, nor did I make that statement," Bachmann said. "Immediately after a debate a mother came up to me, and she was visibly shaken and heartbroken because of what her daughter had gone through. I only related what her story was."

In October of 2006, before Bachmann emerged as a superstar of the conservative movement, the Minnesota congresswoman raised eyebrows when she suggested that a sizable portion of the scientific community discredits the theory of evolution.
Bachmann said, "There are hundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them holding Nobel Prizes, who believe in intelligent design."
More recently, Bachmann discussed her views on the matter at this year's Republican Leadership Conference.
"I support intelligent design," she told reporters at the conservative gathering, according to CNN. "What I support is putting all science on the table and then letting students decide. I don't think it's a good idea for government to come down on one side of scientific issue or another, when there is reasonable doubt on both sides."

During the long road to health care reform in the fall of 2009, Bachmann took to the House floor to warn members of congress that "sex clinics" could result from passing legislation that was under debate at the time.
The Tea Party favorite suggested that if reform were to pass, schools might begin offering abortions to students given her interpretation that the measure was designed to bring Planned Parenthood into educational facilities:
The bill goes on to say what's going to go on -- comprehensive primary health services, physicals, treatment of minor acute medical conditions, referrals to follow-up for specialty care -- is that abortion? Does that mean that someone's 13 year-old daughter could walk into a sex clinic, have a pregnancy test done, be taken away to the local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, have their abortion, be back and go home on the school bus that night? Mom and dad are never the wiser.
Section 2511 of the health care bill referred to by Bachmann, makes no mention of abortion and stipulates:
(i) "SBHC services will be provides in accordance with Federal, State, and local laws governing-- (I) obtaining parental or guardian consent; and (II) patient privacy and student records, including section 264 of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and section 444 of the General Education Provision Act;
The nonpartisan PolitiFact rated Bachmann's statement a "Pants On Fire" falsehood.
We see no language in the three main versions of the bill that would allow school-based clinics, which have a long history of providing basic health services to underprivileged students, to provide abortions. Nor would the clinics even be new they have been around for three decades. So we rate the claim Pants on Fire!
Nevertheless, Bachmann within weeks went on to issue the same warning once again.

Bachmann criticized the country's current tax code as "a weapon of mass destruction" in a speech she delivered to local Republican activists in South Carolina back in February, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal reported at the time.
According to the local outlet, the Tea Party favorite called for the system to be abolished. "We need a radically different system," she stressed to a crowd of nearly 200 guests.

After Bachmann derided Planned Parenthood as "the LensCrafters of big abortion" earlier this year, it became clear that the Tea Party darling's comparison left the prescription eyewear company less than pleased.
Roll Call reported in April of this year:
But LensCrafters didn't like the comparison. A company spokeswoman tells HOH that it contacted Bachmann's office Tuesday asking that she stop using its name. "She's using our name without our knowledge or permission," says Julie Maslov, communications director for Luxottica Retail, LensCrafters' parent company.
She didn't cite any legalese but rather says that the request was made "in the spirit of the fact that we have nothing to do with these parties or the debate."
According to Roll Call, a spokesman for Bachmann said the congresswoman would avoid referencing LensCrafters going forward, calling the request "perfectly understandable."

During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" back in March, Bachmann addressed an eyebrow-raising allegation she had previously made against the Obama administration.
"I don't take back my statements on gangster government," she said, referring to a charge she made during the debate over health care reform. "I think that there have been actions taken by the government that are corrupt."
Click here to read more about what the conservative favorite had to say.

HuffPost's Jason Linkins reported in November of 2009:
Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann made the acquaintance of some hula dancing Teabaggers from Hawaii, and they brought her a lei, which Bachmann herself could obtain at the airport in Hawaii, were it not for the fact that she believes planes cannot fly over water without the use of witchcraft. Anyway, she told Congress, "I'm reminded that the one who created this lei also created our freedom. Are we so insensible to the high cost our forebearers paid to purchase our freedom?" So, the Hawaiian Bureau of Tourism created our freedom? I guess this is not supposed to make much sense.

Bachmann delivered her own rebuttal to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address back in January despite Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) being tapped to give the official Republican response.
Republican party leaders downplayed the move from Bachmann at the time.
CNN was the only cable network to carry the Tea Party favorite's speech, but that didn't stop Bachmann from landing in the headlines with her remarks.
One video capturing Bachmann's response showed her appearing to look off to the side of the camera while speaking. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported at the time:
The reason, it appears, is that Bachmann delivered her speech to TeaPartyHD's camera, which had the teleprompter she used. But most of the world -- well, nation -- saw the footage shot by network cameras that were allowed to video the speech.
Luckily for Bachmann, TeaPartyHD, which produced the video, made moves to straighten out the footage after it began to stir buzz.

During an online town hall forum in May of last year, Bachmann suggested that proposed financial regulatory reform legislation was reminiscent of Italy under the rule of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
The Minnesota Independent relays what Bachmann had to say at the time:
"Let's remember really what this is. This has a lot in common with Italy in the 1930s and they way Italy dealt with economics," she said. "It still continues private ownership of business but government is in control."
She continued, "So government control of the private business, while it's private ownership, that's still at the end of the day the federal government virtually having a say over private business. We lose freedoms; we lose economic competitiveness."
"And don't forget," she added, "Italy is in tough shape financially, and that's not what we want for the United States."

Bachmann said that she could take out President Obama if she were ever caught in the mind-boggling and improbable scenario of engaging the nation's leader in a physical fight in an interview with BigGovernment.com last year.
SHAPIRO: I want to ask you, speaking of his violent language, and he's been brutal on BP, talking about putting his boot on the throat of BP, talking about how he wants to go down there and kick someone's ass -- frankly, Michele, I think you could take President Obama, off the record.
BACHMANN: Hey, I took karate when I was 17 years old, I am dangerous.

Back in March, Bachmann told a group of local New Hampshire Republicans, "You're the state where the shot was heard around the world in Lexington and Concord." However, the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired in Massachusetts, not the Granite State.
The AP reported at the time Bachmann made the comments in question:
Though Bachmann probably wasn't the first to confuse Concord, N.H., with Concord, Mass., her mistake was striking given her roots in the tea party movement, which takes its name from the dumping of tea into Boston Harbor by angry American colonists in December 1773, 16 months before the Battle of Lexington Green.
"I made a mistake; I should've said Massachusetts rather than New Hampshire," Bachmann said amid scrutiny on the heels of making the remarks. "We all know that there's a double standard in the media."

HuffPost's Jason Linkins reported in the summer of 2009:
Michele Bachmann has drawn a line in the sand, and will not fill out the Census, and no one really cares because who in America really wants to see government resources allocated to the Bachmann demographic, anyway? Nevertheless, Bachmann is the Neda Agha Soltan of fighting ACORN and the Census. "Why does the government need our phone numbers?" complains Bachmann, making me wonder if she plans on robo-calling her constituents come re-election time. You know I'll be watching for that!
Anyway, last summer, Michele Bachmann went on the Glenn Beck Common Sense Comedy Hour to talk about all of this. Understandably, Bachmann is concerned with whether the government should know about its citizens' "mental stability." And here is one of Bachmann's amazing insights:
BACHMANN: You know the question that's not on this survey, Glenn? "Are you a U.S. citizen?" This would be your perfect opportunity to find out how many illegal aliens are in the United States.
Of course! That is precisely the way this mystery should be penetrated! I can see it now!
CENSUS TAKER: Okay, next question...are you a U.S. Citizen?
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT: RATS! You caught me!
CENSUS TAKER: I shall now deport you, with my ACORN magicks!
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT: And to think I almost got away with it!
And that's the incredibly true story of how Mitt Romney had to start paying his gardeners actual money!
But here's the revelatory part of Bachmann's conversation: It appears that there actually is a point at which you can even out-bonkers Glenn Beck! Watch as the video gets to about the two-minute mark. That's when Bachmann starts up her "OMGZ! THE INTERNMENT CAMPZ" spiel. Beck starts shaking his head in disbelief, and then just shuts her down, mid-thought! Is that a bridge too far for Glenn Beck, who runs the most realistic Doom Room in Cable news? Maybe! Of course, I can't help but notice that Beck set Bachmann up perfectly to proffer that answer.

HuffPost's Sam Stein reported back in 2008:
In a television appearance that outraged Democrats are already describing as Joseph McCarthy politics, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann claimed in October of 2008 that Barack Obama and his wife Michelle held anti-American views and couldn't be trusted in the White House. She even called for the major newspapers of the country to investigate other members of Congress to "find out if they are pro-America or anti-America."
Appearing on MSNBC's Hardball, Bachmann went well off the reservation when it comes to leveling political charges against the Democratic nominee.
"If we look at the collection of friends that Barack Obama has had in his life," she said, "it calls into question what Barack Obama's true beliefs and values and thoughts are. His attitudes, values, and beliefs with Jeremiah Wright on his view of the United States...is negative; Bill Ayers, his negative view of the United States. We have seen one friend after another call into question his judgment -- but also, what it is that Barack Obama really believes?"
Goaded by a Chris Matthews to explain exactly what she was talking about (at one point Bachmann seemed to imply that liberalism was anti-Americanism), the congresswoman waded deeper into the mud.
"Remember it was Michele Obama who said she is only recently proud of her country and so these are very anti-American views," she said. "That's not the way that most Americans feel about our country. Most Americans are wild about America and they are very concerned to have a president who doesn't share those values."
Matthews later pressed her to name a single member of Congress other than Obama who she thought was anti-American. Bachmann, who initially wouldn't budge, called for a major "expose" into the matter.
"What I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look. I wish they would. I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out if they are pro-America or anti-America," she said.

In July of last year, Bachmann accused the Obama administration of "turning our country into a nation of slaves."
The Colorado Independent relays what Bachmann had to say while speaking at an event in Denver:
"'We are determined to live free or not at all. And we are resolved that posterity shall never reproach us with having brought slaves into the world,'" Bachmann read from founding father John Jay , ending her reading with the statement, "We will talk a little bit about what has transpired in the last 18 months and would we count what has transpired into turning our country into a nation of slaves."
She reiterated her concern more forcefully toward the end of the program.

HuffPost's Sam Stein reported in April of 2009:
Appearing on Minnesota radio station KTLK-AM, (h/t Minnesota Independent) the Republican Bachmann expressed her concern that White House was trying to put in place "re-education camps for young people, where young people have to go and get trained in a philosophy that the government puts forward." Furthering the Obama-as-autocrat theme, Bachmann said the youngsters would "then they have to go to work in some of these politically correct forums."
The launching point of Bachmann's remarks was the widely popular and bipartisan Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which would expand national community service programs from 75,000 positions to 250,000.
"It's under the guise of -- quote -- volunteerism. But it's not volunteers at all. It's paying people to do work on behalf of government," said the Minnesota Republican. "I believe that there is a very strong chance that we will see that young people will be put into mandatory service. And the real concerns is that there are provisions for what I would call re-education camps for young people, where young people have to go and get trained in a philosophy that the government puts forward and then they have to go to work in some of these politically correct forums."

Bachmann issued a warning in March of 2009 on her fear that the United States might wind up abandoning "the dollar for a multinational currency."
A press release put out by the Tea Party darling read:
"Yesterday, during a Financial Services Committee hearing, I asked Secretary Geithner if he would denounce efforts to move towards a global currency and he answered unequivocally that he would," Bachmann said in the March 25, 2009 news release . "And President Obama gave the nation the same assurances. But just a day later, Secretary Geithner has left the option on the table. I want to know which it is."
The Republican congresswoman also expressed her concerns during an appearance on Fox News: "I'm very concerned about the international moves they're making, particularly ... moving the United States off the dollar and onto a global currency, like Russia and China are calling for."
Politifact rated Bachmann's statement "false."

During the CNN Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas, Michele Bachmann flubbed some basic geography while criticizing the Obama administration's foreign policy, HuffPost's Amanda Terkel reported.
"Now with the president, he put us in Libya. He is now putting us in Africa," Bahmann said during the debate in October. Libya is, of course, in Africa.